Hills to Climb
by Anonygleek
Summary: Angst meme prompt: Will has seen Kurt take a fair amount of abuse so far, it has to be pretty bad for him to step in. What exactly does Will see to jolt him into action?


"Hey!"

William Schuester looked up as he heard the incensed bellow. He recognized the voice immediately; there was no mistaking Kurt Hummel's unique voice even when it was raised in an unusual rage.

"Come and get it, Homo," he heard another voice-this one he did not recognize-taunting. Will winced as he saw one of the large athletes walking backward past his office window, holding Kurt's messenger bag high in the air.

Will considered his options for a few moments. Should he ignore what was happening or should he intervene? He knew Kurt was having a tough time of things lately, but…this really wasn't anything more than just kids being kids. If he went out there and demanded that the jock give Kurt back his bag, he'd probably only embarrass the boy. And he'd probably have to have a talk with the jock, which would probably lead to him carrying a grudge against Kurt.

Intervening would only make things worse, he decided, looking back down to the paper he was grading.

He glanced up again for a moment as Kurt stormed past his office, following after the jock. Will smiled at the fierce expression on his student's face. Yes, Kurt could handle himself. He had been doing so for years, and it seemed that he preferred things that way, judging from the talk they'd had a few weeks earlier.

_This is my hill to climb alone._

That's what Kurt had said when Will had asked if he could help.

He went back to grading the paper.

He made a couple small corrections, but couldn't quite shake the bad feeling gnawing at his gut.

Sure, Kurt had turned down his offer of help, but then he'd gone on to accuse Will-and everyone else-of being too quick to let homophobia slide.

_Come and get it, Homo._

Will looked up again, contemplating once again on whether he should go check on Kurt. The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse for the kid, but…it couldn't hurt if he just happened to need to make some copies in the teachers' lounge and passed them in the hallway. If Kurt was okay, he'd just keep walking. If Kurt needed help, he'd just remind the boys that class was in session so they weren't to be roaming the halls without a pass of some sort. Will was certain that Kurt would have one, and then while he checked the jock's, he'd make sure to detain the bigger boy until Kurt was safely back to class.

Will snatched up the sheet music he intended to present to the Glee Club during rehearsal and made his way out into the hall.

Neither Kurt nor the jock were in immediate view and Will almost turned back to his office, but the bad feeling nagged, so he started down the hall, listening for any signs of trouble.

He almost walked right past them in the stairwell.

He might have missed them if he hadn't almost tripped on Kurt's messenger bag. For a moment he thought it had just been abandoned, but then he heard a small whimpering sound coming from the small nook behind the stairs.

"Whoa!" he let out an involuntary gasp, shocked as he saw the jock fervently kissing Kurt and luridly grinding himself against the smaller boy's lithe body, pressing him against the wall. Will wasn't sure, but he thought it looked like the bigger boy had one of his hands down the back of Kurt's pants.

He immediately turned around, his hand raising to cover his mouth. Now what was he supposed to do? Just walk away and pretend he didn't see anything? They shouldn't be making out in the school hall, but it wasn't an unfamiliar sight anyway. He never stopped the other couples, so it wouldn't be fair if he stopped Kurt and his boyfriend.

They weren't really doing anything wrong, he told himself. It was just startling to him because Kurt was the only gay boy he was aware of at McKinley. He smiled slightly as he realized that Kurt wasn't as alone as either of them thought.

Maybe he'd just pretend that he didn't see them and give them a few minutes while he went to make those copies. If they were still in the stairwell when he got back, he'd chase them out.

Except that his gasp had apparently alerted the boys to his presence.

He winced as he heard a thump and a small grunt behind him moments before the jock burst past him, running as though the devil himself was giving chase.

Will waited a few moments, hearing Kurt's hitching breaths while the boy got himself back under control.

He glanced back and was startled to see Kurt's hands shaking as he struggled to get his pants zipped.

Okay, that was beyond what other couples did in the hallway. Seemed they were going to have to have a little talk after all. That wasn't…

Kurt's breath was still coming in short, panicked bursts.

Will turned to get a better look. Kurt saw him looking and seemed to fold in on himself a little bit wrapping his arms around himself as though they were holding him together. Will offered him a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, it's okay…"

With just those words, he suddenly found himself with arms full of Kurt. The young man's body was shaking as it pressed against him.

What…?

He cautiously pulled Kurt into a hug, unsure what else to do.

"You're okay," he soothed, a horrible feeling once again growing in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't about a boy getting caught making out in the stairwell with his boyfriend. This was…something else.

He thought back to a few moments earlier, trying to picture what he'd seen, even though he wasn't all that comfortable thinking about what he'd seen.

The jock had been kissing Kurt. Had pushed him against the wall. Had a hand down Kurt's pants.

But what had Kurt been doing?

He'd barely been visible beyond the bigger boy's bulky figure. But his hands had not been around the other boy's waist, or neck. They'd been against the other boy's chest.

Trying to push him away, Will realized as the horror of what he'd actually seen began to sink in. It hadn't been mutual. He caught himself pulling Kurt into a tighter embrace and repeating the same soothing words over again until Kurt's shaking began to subside.

As Will was still trying to figure out what he should do with this new bit of knowledge, Kurt suddenly pulled away from him. The boy took a deep breath as he stooped down to gather up his messenger bag. As Kurt rose back to full height, Will could see his mask slipping right back into place; Kurt's slender shoulders squared and his chin jutted up proudly.

"Kurt…"

"I'm fine," the boy cut him off quickly.

"No," Will countered, almost backing off as Kurt glared at him.

"I thank you for your timely arrival, Mr. Schue. And for…that," he added, his eyes not meeting Will's. "But really, I'm fine."

Will might have believed him if he hadn't caught the soft lilt of the boy's voice. "No," he repeated firmly. "You're not."

Kurt sucked in his breath, his eyes rising slightly to meet Will's gaze.

"You were assaulted."

Kurt stiffened. His lips parted as though he were going to protest, but only a small wounded noise escaped. He could see the boy's eyes tearing up, though it was obvious that Kurt was doing his best not to let the tears spill.

Will tentatively reached out, placing his hand on Kurt's shoulder in a gesture of concern. Kurt flinched slightly before relaxing, his own hand rising to rest on top of Will's, grasping it as though he were seeking a lifeline. Will suspected that for all of Kurt's talk of going it alone, he really needed…_wanted_ someone to push past his wall of defense and fight for him anyway.

And Will could do that.

He led Kurt to Figgins's office, thanking whatever Gods out there that were listening that the man had returned from his sick leave and they weren't going to face "Principal Sue".

Will never thought he'd ever prefer Principal Sue, but as he angrily made his way out of the office, he wished that she were still in charge. She would have never done what that man just did.

He hadn't gotten the justice the boy deserved.

"It's just one boy's word against the other, William," Figgins had informed him when he'd protested the fact that Karofsky was being let off with a two-day in-school suspension instead of the expulsion that Will had requested on Kurt's behalf. "You said yourself that you didn't realize at first that Kurt was not a willing partner," he pointed out to Will. "How was Mr. Karofsky supposed to know?"

Kurt let out a furious huff, but Figgins gave him a warning look. "Yes, Mr. Karofsky understands that now," he told Kurt, looking to Karofsky, who nodded in agreement, though Will was certain he saw more than a little spark of anger in the boy's eyes as well. "And he says that you did not tell him no," Figgins repeated Karofsky's defense. "And it was only a kiss, am I right?"

Kurt was practically shaking with fury, but stayed silent, having already stated his case. Will made the mistake of looking closer and seeing the deep pain and humiliation seeping into the boy's expression. He hadn't been able to look at Kurt again after that.

He'd failed Kurt miserably.

Not only had he not gotten Kurt justice, but he'd let Figgins perpetrate Kurt's feeling that he was alone with his battle. That nobody was there to back him up or protect him.

"From now on there will be no hanky panky in the hallways of McKinley," Figgins asserted his new rule. Will closed his eyes, his heart clenching as Figgins dismissed the assault with that cutesy phrase, and the assurance that it had been "just a kiss".

Kurt silently rose to his feet at those words.

Will followed, trying not to notice the way the boy's shoulders were slumped. He reached out and grasped Kurt's arm gently, this time steering him toward his office. If nothing else, Kurt needed a few minutes to get himself back together before returning to class.

The boy sat sulkily in the chair, sipping the glass of water Will provided him. Though he said nothing, Will could feel the pain coming off the boy in waves. He wished he knew what to say, what to do to help, but he'd done what he could.

Kurt finished his water just as the bell rang, indicating the end of another class hour.

Will watched as Kurt gathered his bag.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Schue," Kurt uttered his first quiet words since they'd left Figgins's office.

"Any time, Kurt," Will replied, feeling terrible because he knew he'd completely botched his attempt to help the boy and was now offering him nothing but more failure. "If you ever need to talk. Or not talk. My office is always open."

Kurt gave him a small smile and nod.

As Will watched Kurt rushing down the hallway, head down, he caught sight of one of the jocks-he thought maybe he recognized the boy as Azimio Adams, one of Karofsky's friends-glaring hatefully at Kurt as the small boy passed, oblivious to the danger.

Will started walking the hall, his eyes not leaving Kurt.

He stopped walking as he noticed that Kurt had passed all the classrooms and was making his way out of the school.

Will had the sinking feeling that he would not be seeing Kurt walking the halls of McKinley again.


End file.
